Echinococcus granulosus

A Parasitic Tapeworm

What is Echinococcus granulosus?

Echinococcus granulosus is a parasitic tapeworm
that is known to exist almost world wide and can infect a
variety of hosts. It is hard to believe, but this
little organism pictured above can be responsible for the death
or disease of many animals closely associated with our daily
lives, it can even infect human beings themselves.
Other hosts, besides humans, include canines such as wolves,
coyotes, and even house hold dogs. Reindeer, moose,
sheep and cows, among others, also play host to these organisms.

Many infected hosts live their day to day life without
ever knowing they are infected. However, others who
end up rupturing the cysts produced in any of the possible
host
organs, can end up going into anaphylactic
shock. The results of this can very from mild
irritation to death.

This site is dedicated to E. granulosus because
in order to prevent this parasite from affecting your lives
or the lives of animals close to you, it is important to
become informed. Moreover, this site is part of a
larger project to provide information on a large variety and
number of species in one location,
MultipleOrganisms.net.